Blossoming
by kpgleek
Summary: Barbara G./ Dick G. - the slow growing love of barbara and dick throughout high school. Jealousy, attraction, flirting, friendzones, etc. Enjoy :D
1. Freshmen

**Author's note: hey so this is my first fanfic! Constructive criticism is encouraged Compliments are also fine :D My wording of things may be a little…awkward…but I'm working on it! BE SURE TO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice characters! These awesome superheroes belong to DC Comics and the creators of young justice **

**So as far as the story:  
Dick and Barbara are in the same grade, Artemis and Zatanna are a year older (I'm really not sure how old they are in the show but I know Artemis is older than Dick/Robin). This story focuses on high school romance with not-so-much action. Minor OC. **

Chapter 1: Freshman

Barbara never gave Dick much thought. All she knew going into 9th grade was that he was her best friend who knew her better than anyone else. He was the most trustworthy and loyal guy she knew. But as anything more than a friend? Barbara never gave the idea much thought. Being about 4 inches shorter than her and having his hair slicked back for school, she couldn't take the idea of dating Dick very seriously. Middle school girls may have had the hots for Dick, but they were in high school now and Barbara was showing more interest in a certain Boy Wonder.

Dick arrived at school late due to some stupid thugs in the city. His teacher was not at all impressed seeing as he had been late to first period almost every day since school started. He quickly took his seat next to Barbara.

"Late again, Grayson?" she said in a teasing tone.

"Shut up, Gordon. Like you've never been late" he countered, happy to see her.

"Well not as much as y- " Barbara started but was interrupted by their teacher. They saved their conversation for later.

After class, Barbara caught up with Dick.

"Hey so why were you so late? AGAIN." She asked

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out" he said smiling.

"Come on Grayson! Why won't you ever tell me why you're late to class?" she begged.

"Whoops, we're at my next class. I'll see you later, Babs!" he said entering the classroom near them.

After school, Dick snuck up behind Barbara and covered her eyes.

"Guess who!" he said playfully.

Barbara sneakily hooked her foot with his, did a quick spin, and before he knew it, he was being thrown to the floor. Being Robin, his fast reflexes allowed him to roll and land on his feet in a crouched position.

"Dick" Barbara said laughing.

"I try to have a playful game of 'guess who' and I get assaulted instead!" he says standing up. She laughed.

"Teaches you to sneak up on me, Grayson!" she responded.

"yeah yeah yeah let's just start heading home" Dick said.

As they started walking home, Barbara noticed Dick staring at her. He was starting to notice little things about her. He started noticing how bright her smile was, how shiny and elegant her hair looked both indoors and outdoors, how great a fighter she was, and other various things. He would never admit it but he thought she was just purely beautiful.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, perplexed.

Dick was brought out of his reverie. "What?" he asked just coming back to reality.

"You've been staring at me for five minutes, Dick" she stated.

"Oh…have I? No. I've just been looking at the flowers behind you! They've really grown since the spring" he responded quickly.

Barbara was suspicious but dismissed his actions and accepted his answer. In desperation to change the topic, Dick started talking about their Pre-Calc homework.

When Barbara finally arrived home, she thought about their walk. Was her best friend of 4 years developing feelings for her? She didn't know what to think about that to be honest. She didn't see him as a little brother so the idea of being in a relationship wasn't totally out of the picture. She decided to brush it off and take a shower.

At Wayne Manor, Dick fell onto his bed, cursing at himself for being so stupid. He would be more careful around. Their friendship meant too much to him to screw things up with a little high school crush.

The next day, Barbara saw that Dick was early. She was beyond surprised to see him there 20 minutes before school started but was nonetheless happy. As she approached him, she saw him run up to a blonde girl and take a picture with her. She felt a pang in her chest which she couldn't explain. Why did if Dick was taking pictures with pretty blond girls? He walked away from the blond student, who she knew was a sophomore because Bette was talking to her.

Dick was smiling at the photo on his phone in a way Barbara had never seen before. It was full of mischief, happiness, excitement, and was just plain happier than she'd ever seen.

"Who was that?" she said in a monotone as she crossed her arms and lay against a pillar.

"Just a girl I know" Dick said still smiling at the photo.

She grunted and started walking away.

"Babs where are you rushing off to? First period is the other way!" he yelled trying to catch up to her.

"Just going to talk to Brooke. I'll catch up with you later" she said. He finally caught up with her.

"I thought you said you were in a fight with Brooke" Dick said, walking a little faster to keep up with her pace.

"Yeah well we worked things out okay Richard!" she scolded. Dick stopped following her. Her use of his full first name was a sign that he should step out. Confused by her actions, he started heading to first period.

Throughout the day, Barbara tried to avoid Dick as much as possible but he didn't make that very easy. She was starting to feel sorry about it but continued to think about the blond beauty he was so happy to see. How did he know her? Dick never told her about a friend like that? From what she learned from Bette, the girl's name was Artemis, she was a transfer, a sophomore, and knew how to fight. How Bette knew the last thing, Barbara had no clue.

Dick was getting frustrated with Barbara. She had been acting weird with him the past few weeks. It's been two months since she first started acting that way. Their walks home were awkward, she never called his house anymore, and their online chats weren't very productive. Thankfully, he had crime fighting to take Barbara off his mind before and after school but even then, she was on his mind somehow.

Winter break had just ended and Dick was hoping Barbara would be feeling better. On his way to school for the first time that year, he ran into Artemis. Ever since Barbara had started acting weird, Dick made it a semi-schedule to talk to Artemis in the morning on days when he wasn't late due to crimes. Despite Bette's problem with freshmen, Artemis befriended the persistent boy. She had no idea why he took such a liking to her so suddenly and always wondered about the picture he took on her first day. No matter though. She liked his company and his wit. It almost reminded her of Robin.

Dick and Artemis had a conversation going and eventually, the two were laughing together like they'd known each other for years. Of course, Barbara decided to choose that moment to show up.

Barbara first spotted Dick laughing alongside Artemis. She honestly had nothing against Artemis. Barbara had gotten to know her having gym class and computer programming with her. What bothered her was this feeling she got whenever she saw Artemis and Dick having such a good time.

As Barbara started walking away, Dick excused himself from Artemis and dashed towards Barbara. She felt him coming up behind her and tried to quicken her pace. Despite this, he caught up to her and grabbed her arm gently.

She turned around and saw him staring at her with a look of confusion and happiness, if that was possible. She pulled her arm away. Despite the pain she felt inside her from the sight of Dick and Artemis, she couldn't also help but feel uplifted to see Dick after such a long time.

"Hey Babs! We never got to hang out this winter break. Bruce had a big Christmas dinner and you didn't show up." He said. She stayed quiet for a little bit, refusing to make eye contact.

"I ended up spending Christmas with my cousin and his parents" she finally said. Any other year, she would have gladly gone to one of the famous Wayne parties just to see Dick in a tux. It wasn't until this Christmas that she realized how much she liked seeing him in a suit. This thought made her blush.

"Oh well…we should totally hang out sometime! Talk about our winter breaks maybe?" he asked hopefully.

She finally looked into his eyes. For the first time since she met him, she noticed how blue his eyes were. His eyes were mesmerizing. They were a deeper blue than her eyes. So deep, she could drown in the blueness they radiated.

"Babs? Hello? You're not still mad at me for whatever I did are you?" he said.

Barbara lightly shook her head.

"Um..hang out? Yeah! I'm sorry about winter break. I should have called. Are you available after school?" she asked, trying to avoid his other big question.

"Today? Oh uh…I sort of already promised Artemis I'd help her with history and then I have to assist Bruce with some party planning (which was code for 'help Bruce with a mission') but I'm totally available tomorrow after school!" he said.

Barbara's heart fell. Why was he spending so much time with her? When she started avoiding him, he would always talk to Artemis every morning! Not just the mornings, but between classes too! And now she's JUST finding out that they have history together?

Keeping her pokerface on, Barbara quickly spoke.

"Oh that's fine! I can't do tomorrow though because…I'm working on a project with a boy in my chem class" she said.

Lies. Why was she lying to him? She wasn't working on the project with Damian ( A/N: OC – just for this story's purposes!) tomorrow. She was working on it with him over the weekend.

"Oh." Dick said, trying not to show he was disappointed. "Which boy?" he asked.

"Damian Harper" Barbara responded plainly.

Barbara noticed an expression cross Dick's face for a split second. She had never seen this expression before and as she tried to determine what it was, he exclaimed "Wait! Damian Harper! Captain of the swim team? Only got into this school because his dad is one of the top donators! The sophomore who's had 6 girlfriends since 7th grade! How did you get partnered with him?"

Barbara was taken aback by his questions and clear annoyance with their partnership. She finally realized that the look on his face just might have been…jealousy? Oh this could work.

Not really knowing what she was doing, Barbara made a split-second decision to use her partnership with Damian as a little way to mess with Dick.

"Yes THE Damian Harper. THE captain of the swim team. THE son of this school's top donator. We'll be working on this project a lot. This project's about 40% of our grade and is due in two weeks." She said slowly.

Dick tried and failed to hide the look of annoyance.

"how long have you been working on the project!" he said a little too eagerly.

Barbara Gordon was enjoying herself.

"Well Mr. Levi assigned the project a week before winter break. He said partners were optional. I was going to work on it along" she paused for dramatic effect. "..but Damian came up to me and asked me to be his partner…" she paused again and moved a little closer to Dick "…so I accepted"

Dick swallowed a hard lump and Barbara saw. She smirked and the bell rang.

"Well we should start heading to pre-calc right, Dick?" she said cheerfully.

She walked with a little more spring in her step while Dick followed with a deadpan face.

A week passed and Barbara talked nonstop about her partner, Damian, and how their amazing their work-sessions were, often embellishing events.

Dick was distraught and would often talk to Artemis about his problem. (A/N: anyone see what I did there? Something for you traught fans ) Dick wouldn't admit it to Barbara, but he hated her partnership. She talked about this Harper kid as much as robin when they were in 7th and 8th grade. But this was different. He WAS robin. He was NOT Damian Harper.

Finally, the project was due and Barbara couldn't talk about her and Damian's work sessions. But, she DID talk about their little conversations in chemistry. The look he gave healed the pain in her heart from seeing him so happy with Artemis but only just a little bit so she talked about Damian often. Dick would often just keep quiet and be off to the side. She thought it was cute whenever he tried to change the subject but failed.

Valentine's Day was in 3 days. Dick didn't care how much Barbara talked about this Damian kid. He was going to do something special. Something subtle but special. Artemis was more than happy to assist him after he had saved her during one mission.

When Valentine's Day arrived, Dick bought a rose with a little card on the side saying

"Robin's suit is red, your eyes are blue

I know we're just friends, but be my valentine will you?

-Dick Grayson"

He hated poetry but it was the best he could come up with.

He arrived at school and went straight to looking for Barbara. He went to her locker but couldn't find her. He continued walking around and finally spotted some red by one of the school's gardens. As he walked towards her, he saw she was holding hands with a certain captain of the swim team. His heart shattered.

Barbara took the captain's hand and he led her towards the computer lab. He had asked for some help with a web design assignment. She saw Dick and quickly picked up her pace to keep up with Damian, hoping to make it look like they were a little more than just friends.

She saw his face and smirked. Whatever he was holding, he totally dropped it. His jaw dropped. His head dropped. Everything about him just dropped and she felt a little bad.

She was brought to the computer lab. There, she helped Damian and he thanked her.

"wow you're really good at this stuff, Gordon" he said.

"yeah well this IS gotham prestigious" she said smiling kindly.

"you know…lots of girls would give anything to be in a computer lab alone with me" he said leaning against the table.

"I'm sure they would" she said smiling and getting up to leave.

Before she could walk away, he grabbed her and pressed his lips to her before she could say anything.

Instantly, her body went into defense mode and she pushed him away, ducked his next assault, tripped the poor lad, and ran.

Barbara had just had her first kiss on Valentine's Day and it wasn't with the one boy she actually might have had feelings for.

Dick threw his flower on the ground. Artemis picked it up but he slapped it out of her hand and quickly apologized for his rash behavior. She picked up the rose again.

"Hey look…it's okay Dick…she'll come around…I know it" she said trying to comfort him.

She hugged him, still holding the rose. Barbara came out from the computer lab building and saw this scene. The one person who could have given her comfort in this time of confusion was hugging the blond beauty.

Artemis held the rose and continued to hug Dick. Barbara was just about in tears by this point. She sat down in a nearby bench wondering "what have I done?".

Later that day right before computer programming started, Artemis walked up to Barbara. She didn't mean to sound rude, but she was mad. She was angry.

"What do you want?" she said sternly to Artemis.

Artemis said nothing and simply took Barbara's notebook from right under her.

Barbara grabbed for it but Artemis dodged her easily and slipped something between the pages, placed the notebook back on her desk, and walked back to her seat before the bell rang to begin class.

Barbara saw a rose peeking out of her notebook and felt very much confused by Artemis's actions. She opened it and saw a heart shaped note signed "-Dick Grayson " at the bottom. He had asked her to be his valentine that day. Her eyes started getting watery. She had really screwed things up.

How had freshman year gone so bad so quickly? Barbara stood in 7th period, the last class of the day for the last day of freshman year. She and Dick hadn't talked much. They walked home together in silence.

They really only talked for school purposes.

The last bell of freshman year rang and everyone ran everywhere. Dick had told her that he would be picked up by Alfred for an appointment. He asked if Barbara wanted a ride but she had rejected.

As she started walking home, she saw a van stop next to her. Dick got out and ran up to her. This surprised her.

"Dick? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hey Babs" he said. She nearly cried when she heard him say her special nickname. "your dad told us to take you home with us" he said

Perplexed by this news, Barbara slowly approached the van and got in.

When they finally got to Dick's mansion, he brought her to an entrance she had never seen before.

"Babs. I know we had a tough year, but I don't want to lose you….as a friend" he added at the end quickly.

He opened the secret compartment and gestured for her to enter.

They eventually found themselves in a cave-like area. She saw Mr. Wayne at the center of the place working on something. He greeted Barbara and went back to his work.

"Babs this way" Dick gestured.

Mouth open, Barbara followed Dick trying to look around as much as possible.

When she finally finished looking around the entire cave, she looked back to Dick but instead, saw none other than the Boy Wonder.

Barbara thought to herself: _Things are about to get interesting, Grayson._

"I hope this explains why I was late to school so many times" Dick said to break the silence.

**A/N: VERY IMPORTANT!: **

** The ending may seem a little rushed but mostly because I thought the story was getting a little too lengthy for a first chapter. Yes, I plan to make new chapters! :D Preferably one for each year of high school. I plan to make future chapters shorter than this one but no promises! Also, this chapter was a little more on the K rating but maybe around their junior year, things will definitely get a little more T-rated**

**Please let me know what you thought! Ideas, constructive criticism, compliments, suggestions :D thanks!**


	2. Sophomores

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Barbara doesn't know about mount justice or the fact that artemis is a part of the young justice gang. Artemis still doesn't know Dick is Robin. Barbara's role in assisting robin and batman was strictly in Gotham.**

**My gosh this chapter ended up being SOOOOOOOOOOO much longer than I planned. But Enjoy! :D **

Chapter 2: Sophomore

Dick approached Gotham Academy for the first time as a 10th grader. Barbara was waiting for him excitedly.

"Hey Dick! So I was think-" she started

"No Babs, I won't let you in on the upcoming mission. That's for me and the big bats to know and for you to not know." Dick responded.

Throughout the summer, Barbara had helped Batman and Robin on various missions. Whether it was doing computer work in the batcave, getting information undercover, or being sent into a scene as a spy, Barbara was ready for the adrenaline rush that came with helping heroes.

Despite Barbara's wishes to actually join the bat family, Dick kept resisting. She knew he feared for her safety and was touched by it but she also wanted him to understand her full potential. Dick knew her skills were beyond that of her years but he could never bear with the guilt that would come upon him if Barbara was hurt during a mission.

"You dick" she grunted at him. He laughed.

"I'll just assume you were just calling me by my nickname" he said with a smile.

"This isn't over, Grayson" Barbara said. "So which classes do you have this year?" she asked.

As they discussed their classes, they learned that they would have 4 out of 7 classes together – AP Government, Web Design, Honors Physics, and Honors English. Internally, Barbara rejoiced in sharing the majority of her day with her best friend. She would NOT have a repeat of last year.

Dick, as happy as he was to spend more time with Babs, was a little worried about her constant nagging. Barbara didn't know about the rest of the members of the Young Justice and to be honest, he was a little worried about her finding out. He figured he'd just have to figure things out on the way.

"So Barbara, homecoming's only 2 weeks away. You got anyone special in mind you hope will ask you out?" Bette said coming up behind Barbara at her locker.

Barbara turned to her friend. The two had gotten really close since sophomore year started (Junior year for Bette).

"Nope. Maybe I'll just go with some friends, you know?" Barbara said closing her locker.

"uh-huh. _Friiieenddss_. You're friends with Dick aren't you? Are you implying that you want to go with him?" Bette said teasingly.

"Bette, please. Our friendship is completely platonic so if you don't mind, I'd like to go eat my lunch with my friends." Barbara said, trying to hide her blush. Bette started following her.

"mhm. So, you're going to eat lunch with Dick? Your 'completely platonic' friend?" Bette cooed.

"I'll have you know, Bette, that I have other sophomore friends that I eat lunch with thank you very much" Barbara replied.

"So you wouldn't mind if Dick asked someone else to the homecoming dance?" Bette added.

Barbara stopped walking and looked at Bette with an intensity she had never seen before.

"Dick can ask whoever he wants to the dance. For all I care, he could ask you" Barbara said as roughly as she could.

Before Bette could respond, Artemis came up to her.

"Bette, the homecoming committee asked me to come find you. I didn't know you were president of the homecoming committee." She said.

"Oh I completely forgot about the meeting! Thanks Artemis" Bette said running off, leaving Artemis with Barbara.

Barbara hadn't interacted with Artemis since Valentines day when she left Dick's flower in her notebook.

"Hey Barbara" Artemis said with a welcoming smile.

"Hi" Barbara said, trying not to feel awkward. Thankfully, Artemis broke the awkwardness with small-talk.

"Dick talks a lot about you, ya know?" she said.

Barbara looked up instantly.

"It's all good stuff though." Artemis said, putting her hands up.

"Oh well…what kind of 'good stuff'?" Barbara stuttered nervously. Artemis smiled at her curiosity.

"Like how great a gymnast you are, how great a fighter you are, stuff like that. We should hang out sometime and do a little sparring" Artemis said.

Barbara smiled at their new friendship.

"I look forward to kicking your butt, Artemis." Barbara said with a smirk. Artemis laughed.

"Great. Well I think you better get back to your boyfriend" Artemis replied, pointing to something behind Barbara.

Barbara turned around to see Dick looking at something on the wall. She turned around saying "He's not my boyfriend!" only to find that Artemis was gone.

Bewildered, Barbara walked towards Dick, carefully looking to make sure Bette or Artemis weren't there.

She snuck up on Dick.

"Boo!" she said, pouncing at her friend.

He dodged her arms with great agility and caught her as she fell forward, grabbing her by the waist. He laughed.

"Babs, when are you ever going to learn that you can't scare me?" he said.

Barbara really hoped he couldn't see her blushing as he spoke into her ear. She was completely aware of his hands around her hips and she wasn't sure what to think. She pushed him away as he laughed at her.

"I'll get you someday, Grayson" she said. She looked at him bewildered. He was her height. This amazed her considering she herself had grown at least 2 more inches during the summer. He must've grown about 6 inches since the end

"What are you doing here? You always sit with Natalie and Brooke at the beginning of lunch, Gordon" Dick said smiling, happy to see her.

"Well I saw you staring at the wall with a look of intensity and thought I should come over and see what it was" she replied, looking up to the wall Dick was looking at. She saw it was the homecoming promotion poster. There were hundreds of these posted around the school. It was kind of hard to miss them really. Barbara suddenly went pale, remembering her conversation with Bette only minutes earlier.

"Well as you can now see, I was looking at the homecoming poster" Dick said, scratching the back of his head trying to hide his embarrassed face. He was hoping he wouldn't get caught looking at it.

Barbara saw through his attempts. She smiled at his blushing.

"So…you planning on asking anyone?" she asked getting a little closer to him.

What was she doing? It's not like she wanted him to ask her out because that'd make their friendship awkward. But she also didn't want to know who he was going to ask and she didn't know why.

She suddenly regretted asking.

"I don't even know if I want to go, Babs" Dick said deep in thought. "I mean…there was this girl" he started.

Barbara suddenly took interest in what Dick was saying. She listened with more intensity than she had ever used before. Suddenly, Dick's friend, Jackson, came up to them.

"Dick! I've been looking for you everywhere" he started. When he spotted Barbara, he added "but now I see why you weren't at the regular lunch spot" he said, looking Barbara up and down.

Barbara suddenly felt disgusted and tried tugging her school skirt down a little more.

"Oh man I'm sorry I totally forgot! Ok I'll be there" Dick said, trying to block Jackson's view of Barbara.

"Get some" Jackson whispered as Dick pushed him away.

As Jackson walked away, Dick turned back to Barbara.

"I'm sorry about that" he said scratching his head. Barbara took note of how attractive he was, running his hair through his already-slicked back hair. She wondered how it looked when he ran his hands through his gel-free hair.

"No it's fine. Now about that girl-" she was interrupted by Dick's phone ringing.

"Oh sorry, I gotta take this. It's Bruce" Dick said walking away.

Barbara stood there confused and worried.

Who was this girl Dick was talking about?

Barbara hadn't planned to go to homecoming but here she was in a car with Natalie, Brooke, and 3 other friends. She hadn't brought up the girl with Dick in the 2 weeks before homecoming.

Upon arriving at the school gym, she was instantly greeted by blasts of music and throngs of well-dressed people. She instantly started looking for a certain dark-haired boy.

Two hours into the dance, Barbara was pulled out of the throng of people by a mysterious hand. She turned around to see that it was none other than Bette.

"Glad to see you could make it, Gordon!" she yelled over the music.

"What do you want, Bette?" Barbara replied as Bette pulled her to one of the tables closer to the gym entrance where the music wasn't as loud.

"To know how you got here and who you've been looking for for the past hour or so" Bette responded.

Barbara tried to hide her face in her hair.

"Oh come on, Gordon. I know you were looking for Dick" said Bette.

"Well what if I was?" Barbara replied, raising her chin.

"Well then I'd say that you have a thing for him" Bette said, her smile growing. Barbara rolled her eyes and attempted to change the subject.

"I do not, Bette. What are you doing here? Don't you have a date to attend to?" she said.

"Pfft no, Gordon. I've been so busy planning this thing I didn't get a date BUT I came here with Artemis and a few other gal pals" Bette said.

"So why aren't you with them?" Barbara pointed out.

"Well they all had their own dates and I respect that. Except Artemis." Bette said.

"Soooo where's Artemis?" Barbara asked, eager to get rid of Bette. Barbara realized Bette was trying to avoid the question by suddenly taking interest in her drink and trying to start a conversation about how cute the Boy-Wonder, Robin was.

"Bette, where's Artemis?" Barbara asked again with more intensity.

"Okay just remember, Barb, that you asked okay!" Bette started. "Artemis left a few minutes ago with Dick okay?"

Barbara shook her head in confusion. Her heart sank.

"Wait, Bette. Why would they leave together?" she asked eagerly.

"Remember, Gordon, you wanted to know! I don't know why they left but they seemed to be in a rush" Bette said, trying to calm Barbara down.

Barbara tried her best not to hide her hurt feelings.

The rest of the night went by painstakingly slow. Barbara stayed with Bette for the rest of homecoming. On the ride home, she stayed quiet, constantly asking herself where Dick was. It hurt and she didn't know why. Dick wasn't ever going to be anything more than her best…best…best best friend. She shouldn't care who he took out.

She finally got to bed. Before she fell asleep, she sent Dick a text message.

It simply said: "Good night, Grayson"

Dick got home at 1 in the morning. He had missed the rest of homecoming and what's more, Artemis had figured out his identity. It's not like he didn't trust her. If anything, he felt a little closer to her. He just wished she'd found out in a different way. Not at homecoming, in the middle of the dance.

.ever.

At least the aliens were under control and he and Artemis FINALLY laughed about the photo he took on her first day at Gotham Academy.

He fell onto his bed and plugged in his phone to charge it only to realize that he had a text message from Barbara.

He read it. "Good night, Grayson".

He had totally forgotten about her. She was the complete reason he went. He planned to find her and maybe…just maybe sweep her off her feet.

He texted her back

"Don't let the bed bugs bight, Gordon" knowing well that she would most likely be asleep.

Then, he finally drifted off to sleep.

Dick snuck up behind Barbara at school 2 weeks after homecoming.

"Guess who!" he said putting his hands over her eyes.

Barbara merely turned around.

"Hey Dick" she said monotone. She had been distant these past few weeks and Dick was getting concerned.

"Babs…hey babs!" he said as she started walking off to class.

"What do you need, Dick?" she said more as a statement than a question.

"I need to understand why you've been so distant from me since homecoming!" he said.

"Why don't you just go talk to your girlfriend, Artemis?!" Barbara yelled back.

"Babs we're drawing a mini-crowd" Dick said through gritted teeth.

"I don't care, Dick" she said in a normal voice. She lowered her voice "I'll see you at the batcave"

Dick entered the batcave to find none other than Barbara laughing at something Alfred said.

He walked by and glared at her only to have her glare back. He got dressed in his hero-suit. He couldn't find his cape and came out only to see that Barbara was holding it with a look of distaste.

He couldn't take this fighting anymore. It had been another 2 weeks since their public fight at school. They had spent their first Holloween apart from each other and their days have been much quieter. Dick would be the first to admit it. He missed Barbara.

He approached her, reaching out for his cape as she dropped it to the floor.

"oops. Maybe if I had my own suit, I'd learn how to take better care of everyone's uniforms" she said, strutting away towards the computer.

Batman had left in his batmobile hours earlier and was waiting for Robin. Before he got into his motorcycle, he approached Barbara who was sitting in the chair at the computer reading her newest magazine.

He removed his mask, turned her chair and placed his hands on each side of her, resting them on the arm rests. He lowered his face close to hers.

Barbara could feel his sweet minty breath on her face and she blushed at their proximity. He was staring into her eyes with an intensity she had never seen before.

Dick put his forehead to hers keeping a straight face.

"Babs. I don't want to fight anymore." And just like that, he pulled back. "I'll see you at dinner, Babs?" he asked as he got onto his motorcycle and drove off.

Barbara let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she missed him too.

It was December 23. Barbara and Dick had patched things up. She missed him and he missed her so it made perfect sense for their friendship to patch itself up. Barbara didn't fully let things go until she saw Artemis kiss a redhead kid afterschool. After that, things just got better and better.

Barbara was spending the day at Wayne Manor to help Dick out with some AP Government studying.

"I'll get us some drinks" Dick said out of the blue.

"Oh but I'm not that thirst-" she was cut off.

"Now Babs, I know you wouldn't deny a nice hot cocoa would you?" Dick asked.

Barbara smiled. He knew she couldn't resist hot chocolate. She nodded and waited for him to return to the living room.

He came back, but not with hot cocoa. He was holding a wrapped box and Barbara blushed.

"Oh Dick. I'm so sorry! I didn't bring your gift. It's not Christmas though!" she said as he handed her the gift. He held up his hand to stop her from rambling.

"Babs. Open it" he said simply with a big smile on his face.

Barbara opened the box and there it was. Her very own hero suit. She squealed as she pulled it out of the box. It had the utility belt, a mask, and everything! It was just like her drawing in her book. She realized that it was EXACTLY like the drawing she had shown to only one person – Alfred.

"Dick. How'd you know!?" she asked quickly.

"Well…when you were mad at me, I figured you'd talk to Alfred about _something_ such as a possible hero costume? Thank Alfred for making it. I really only got the materials and provided the utility belt" He said plainly.

Barbara ran up to Dick and hugged him as hard as she could.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you! Oh you will NOT regret this!" she squealed at Dick. "Oh Dick I could kiss you right now!" she said but her smile quickly faded when she realized what she said.

Dick didn't know how to respond. He cleared his throat but Barbara still stood there in shock of what she just said. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Dick, determined to break the awkward silence, went up to Barbara and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and said "Merry Christmas, babs"

Then he casually walked to the kitchen saying "So how about some hot cocoa?"

Everyone was back at school. Winter break was over to the dismay of just about every student at Gotham Academy. Barbara was in an incredibly jolly mood as she walked into AP Government only to find Dick laughing with a girl with black hair.

She walked to them.

"What's so funny?" she asked, refusing to feel threatened by this girl who was making her best friend laugh.

"Hey Babs! This is Zatanna! She's knew but I know her from outside of school" Dick said looking back at Zatanna.

"Nice to meet you, Barbara! Dick's said so much about you! But don't worry, it's good stuff" she said.

Barbara instantly thought back to the moment at the beginning of the schoolyear with Artemis.

She shook Zatanna's hand and took her regular seat next to Dick.

"um Babs, if you don't mind, I was thinking that maybe Zatanna could sit there seeing as you know…she's new" Dick started.

"Oh it's fine Dick I can sit somewhere –" Zatanna started saying but was cut off by Barbara.

"No no! it's fine, I can find another seat. Welcome to Gotham Academy, Zatanna" Barbara said, walking away to cover her flushed face.

Seriously, Dick? How many girls do you know outside of school? Barbara took a seat next to Danny, the class nerd who would often distract the teacher with mindless trivia.

It was the worst AP Government class she had taken that year.

"Dick, I know you want me to feel welcome, but I've been here for 3 weeks now. I think I can find my way to my next class" Zatanna said smirking at Dick.

"I know. Just…want to make sure you're okay" he said, embarrassed at how strongly he had come onto Zatanna since she started attending his school.

"Why don't you go hang out with Barbara?" she said "not that I don't want to hang out with you" she quickly added.

"I've been hanging out with Barbara since we were 9. I'm sure she won't mind another few minutes without me" he said.

"Dick, I think you're cute, funny, and amazing" she started. "But I think Barbara thinks you're even more than that"

Dick started thinking about what Zatanna was saying.

They had kissed on new years on their mission and the two had tried to make _something_ work. But it was more of a spur of the moment and Dick wanted to make sure they stayed close.

"Barbara couldn't possibly like me, Zatanna. It just wouldn't work out. We've been friends for so long that any sort of 'relationship' would ruin everything" he started.

"Dick. Go talk to Barbara. I'll be fine. I'll hang out with Artemis" Zatanna said.

Dick finally walked off to find Barbara. He asked Bette, Brooke, and Natalie but none of them knew where she was. He decided to check out the library in case she was studying.

He went inside and looked in every row of books he could. She wasn't there either. At least that's what he thought until he saw her. She was writing in a journal of some sort.

He quietly took a seat in front of her. He cleared his throat. She was writing intensely in the book as if she was pissed at it. He cleared his throat again even louder. Barbara jumped up from what she was writing and the second she saw him, she slammed the journal shut.

"Dick! You scared me!" she said.

"Well that's what Dicks do!" he said smiling.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Zatanna on whatever it is she needs you for?" she said sarcastically.

"Nah. Thought I'd hang out with you, Babs" he said. "So what are you working on in that journal of yours?" he said reaching for the journal. She pulled it out of his reach at the last second.

"Nothing for your eyes to see, Grayson" she responded sharply.

Dick raised his hands in surrender.

"You think I could take a look at it in 10 years?" he asked randomly.

She eyed him then looked back to her journal.

"Depends" she responded plainly.

"Depends on what?" Dick asked.

"If you stop being such a dick" she said, getting up and walking towards the library exit.

Dick got up to keep up with her.

"Whoa there, Babs. Wait up! I wanted to ask if you wanted to…uh..hang out sometime" he said.

She turned around.

"Depends" she said.

"Again with the whole 'depends' thing? Okay are you free Friday?" Dick asked.

"Um…no…but maybe we could get some pizza after school next Monday?" she asked casually.

"Uh yeah! Sure. I should be able to make it" he said smiling nervously.

Suddenly a guy came up behind Barbara and snaked his arms around her waist.

"Hey babe, we still on for this Friday?" he asked while kissing her on the cheek.

Barbara blushed as Dick's eyes widened. Dick cleared his throat.

"Uh…Babs, may I ask who this is?" Dick said with a sudden lob in his throat.

"Um…Dick, this is Jason" she said. "He's my boyfriend"

Dick felt his head spinning. Boyfriend? Since when did Barbara Gordon have a boyfriend!?

"Oh! Haha your boyfriend! Of course! Yeah I heard around the school..that..about you…how..." he stuttered.

Barbara's heart broke a little at Dick's response to her news. Why should she care though? Dick had spent these last few weeks with that Zatanna girl. She was surprised they weren't already dating. She had every right to date Jason. Sure, he was a junior and he'd graduate a year before her but she was fine with that.

Dick's phone rang and he had never been so happy to hear his ringtone. He quickly answered the phone.

"Sup?" he said.

He heard Wally on the other end.

"Dude. We got a big one. Can you quickly make it or will your fancy-schmancy school forbid it?" Wally informed.

Dick looked at Barbara and Jason.

"Yea Wally. I'll be there" he said before hanging up.

"Well nice to meet you, Jason. Barbara, I'll…see you around" he said before running off.

Barbara watched Dick run off. This was the first time in a while that he had used her full name. She was officially worried.

"babe, I want you to meet my friends" she heard Jason say.

She sighed and started walking with him.

_Babe_ just wasn't the same as _Babs_.

The weather was finally beginning to feel like Spring.

Dick was up on the rooftop with Batgirl on a stakeout of the city on Batman's command. Ever since finding out about Jason, it had been Dick's turn to become distant. Despite his calm demeanor, Dick was dealing with a plethora of confusion inside. He was mad at Barbara for dating some other guy though in all honesty, it's not like he had shown much interest in her. He was mad at Jason for being so public about their relationship but then again, if it was him she was being so _public_ with, he wouldn't be complaining. He was mad that he had to work with her on these missions because he didn't want to see her because it brought so much pain.

The worst among all these things was that Dick had finally come to a realization. Not a clear realization but a big enough epiphany. He loved his best friend.

He was too scared to figure out what kind of love he had for his best friend. For all he knew, it could've been a 'just friends' sort of feeling or even a 'brotherly' love he felt for her. He refused to think of the other kind of love he could feel for her.

"Well this is boring." Batgirl finally said, breaking the silence.

Robin continued to look over the building's edge with high intensity, the same way he had seen Batman stand whenever he tried to concentrate on possible thieves on the ground below.

"Yeah. A little too boring." He said.

Criminals have been up to no good nonstop for the last few months. Why would there suddenly be nothing on this one night?

Barbara gave an exasperated sigh.

"Dick you haven't talked to me for two weeks except to say 'hello' or 'goodbye' or 'Batman needs us'! Is this because of Jason? Because honestly I think that I have every right to-" she was cut off.

"I know you have every right, okay Barbara? Why should I care who you date? Date who you want" Dick said in a monotone voice.

Barbara was about to say something when Robin pointed at something.

"There! Those are the drugs that the police have been looking for! I'll take left, you take right" Robin said. And just like that, he was gone.

Barbara quickly responded and went right. Dick's words were still on her mind, though.

School final exams were coming up and Dick's load was getting heavier.

Between being Robin the Boy Wonder and Dick the Gotham Academy mathlete, Dick was getting more and more stressed. One lunch period, he found himself studying in the part of the library that no one ever went to.

He ate his lunch and turned the pages of his textbook, taking notes occasionally on things he should remember. Suddenly, a shadow fell across his book. He looked up to see Barbara. She sat next to him, making sure to keep her skirt under control.

"Barbara, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question" she answered.

"Well, I'm clearly studying. Shouldn't you be off making out with your Junior boyfriend Jeffson?" he asked, looking back to his textbook and taking a bite out of his apple.

"His name is _Jason_ and no. I'm getting a little tired of the making out to be honest." She said blushing that Dick had taken note of all the kissing that had been going on between her and Jason.

"Yeah well whatever his name is, shouldn't you still be with him?" Dick said. He looked to Barbara. "He IS your boyfriend" he said with a distasteful tone on the word 'boyfriend'.

Barbara stared at him. His face had gotten more angular and his ears didn't look as big on him anymore. However, she noticed he had bags under his eyes. Really big heavy bags. She had never seen him so tired.

"Turn around" she said.

"What?" he asked, perplexed.

"Turn around" she said with a more serious tone.

Dick went ahead and did what he was told, turning his back to her and facing the bookshelf.

He suddenly felt her hands on his shoulders and he instantly relaxed into her touch. She sensed this and started rubbing his back with what she had learned from Alfred. They sat in silence as she massaged his back. She massaged his neck and everything down to his waist. She found herself wishing his shirt was off but quickly switched her thoughts.

"Why are you doing this, Babs?" Dick said in a relaxed tone, wishing to break the silence.

Barbara's eyes widened.

"You used my nickname" she said smiling even though he couldn't see.

"Well why wouldn't I?" he replied.

He turned around so he could look at her. They smiled at each other and without realizing what he was doing, Dick started leaning in. Barbara unconsciously found herself leaning in too.

They were about a fist's distance from each other before the school bell rang. Dick pulled back as far as he could, ramming the back of his head into the bookcase behind him.

"Argh! Stupid bookcase" he grunted.

Barbara suppressed a laugh and suddenly realized what had just happened.

"Well I gotta get to class" Dick said. He started walking away before turning around and thanking her for the massage.

When he was gone, Barbara let out a big breath.

"Stupid bell" she said to no one in particular.

"Hey!" Dick heard someone call his name.

He turned around to see a boy named Spencer running up to him.

"Grayson, right?" he asked.

Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…Spencer, right?" Dick replied.

Spencer smiled

"Yeah! Hey so you're friends with Barbara right?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Dick said.

"I'm a friend of Jason, her boyfriend? Anyway, he's having a pool party after school today, seeing as it's the last day. I was looking at the guest list and realized you're not on it and just thought that since you're Barbara's friend that…uh..you know…you should come" he said.

Dick looked at him suspiciously but then decided that the guy was decent.

"Today? I think I can make it. Thanks for inviting me…I guess" Dick said slowly.

"Cool! Oh and by the way, Jackson and some of your other friends will be there…in case you needed to know" he added before leaving to go off to class.

Dick smirked to himself. He then realized he would need some swim trunks and the address of this pool party. He quickly went to look for Jackson while pulling out his phone to call Alfred about some swim trunks.

"What do you mean you invited Dick?!" Jason shouted at Spencer at the pool.

"Hey man I just thought…you know…the more the merrier…and he seemed to be one of Barbara's only friends who wasn't invited!" Spencer said in defense.

"Who wasn't invited?" Barbara came up in her bikini.

"No one, babe! Uh…babe…Spencer here invited that friend of yours…Dick" Jason said through gritted teeth.

Barbara's eyes widened and started to sparkle.

"He's here? Where!?" she said, leaving to look for Dick.

"See what you've done, Spencer!? Do you know how long it took me to get a hold of that sophomore babe!? Tonight was going to be the lucky night! The only thing that could have possibly gotten in the way was that dick." Jason scolded Spencer.

Much to her dismay, Barbara couldn't find Dick. She ended up talking to Artemis and Bette, sitting by the pool with their feet in the water. She was impressed that Jason was able to reserve the entire pool for an end-of-the-year party. However, part of her wished Dick was there. It wasn't like she wanted to know how he looked with his shirt off or anything.

Dick had just been dropped off at the pool. It had taken a little convincing of Bruce but he finally decided to let him enjoy his final day of school before spending the rest of summer as a hero rather than a teen. He entered through the gate and saw the huge group of people. He found Jackson and the rest of his friends and they went to get some drinks. Before he took a sip of his drink, Dick saw her. Barbara was sitting on the pool's edge with her feet in the water, her hair beautifully slicked back thanks to the water. Her eyes sparkled in the sun and…Dick shook himself. He couldn't have these thoughts. She was taken by that Jason guy. Dick turned his back to her and faced his friends.

"So guys…how about we go for a swim?" he said, smiling.

Bette got up to get some drinks leaving Artemis with Barbara.

"Hey so when are we going to have another sparring session? I want a rematch" Artemis started.

"Oh please I figured you'd have given up by now" Barbara said laughing.

"Given up like how you gave up on Dick and settled for Jason the Jerk?" Artemis replied.

Barbara's head snapped towards Artemis who quickly raised her hands in defense.

"Jason is NOT a jerk. Besides, Dick and I are completely platonic. I mean…" Barbara started before Artemis started pointing at someone.

Barbara turned to see who she was pointing at only to see it was the one and only Dick. He was with his friends getting some drinks. They turned around and started approaching the pool. His friends all jumped into the water. Dick was getting ready to jump when he took off his shirt. Barbara blushed and looked away only to see Artemis was looking at her with a knowing grin.

Barbara rolled her eyes and got up to go see Jason. She quickly turned to see Artemis laugh at Dick and splash some water in his face.

The sun was setting and half the guests had left. Dick was still there because he and Artemis would go to Mount Justice right after the party. Barbara approached Jason.

"Jason I need to tell you something" she started.

"What is it, babe?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't break up with him before he could get much further with her.

"So I know this summer we were going to hang out but…my dad just told me a few days ago that we were going to spend the whole summer in London with some distant family. I'm so sorry-" she started but was cut off by Dick saying "What!?"

Jason and Barbara jumped at Dick's sudden presence.

"Dick what are you doing here? I mean…I meant to tell you too but…" she didn't know what to say.

"Hey she was talking to me, kid. The least you could do is let her finish what she has to say and say 'excuse me' before interjecting in our conversation" Jason said walking up to Dick and bending over him.

Dick still wasn't very tall but he had sure gotten a big more muscular.

Ignoring Jason, Dick continued on to Barbara.

"When were you planning on telling me? After the summer!?" he asked, getting increasingly worried.

Barbara didn't know what to say and started backing up only to bump into Artemis.

"Boys, let's not put any additional pressure on Barb. It's not like she's moving away. We'll see her next year, right Barb?" she said turning to Barbara.

Barbara had never liked Artemis more in her lifetime.

"Yeah. I'll see you guys at the beginning of the year. Jason, I promise to call you the second I land back in America" she said smiling, refusing to look at Dick.

Dick didn't know what to do. He just stood there frozen as Artemis handled everything.

Before he could say or do anything, he heard Alfred honk the horn in the background.

Dick turned back to call Artemis to leave.

Artemis walked towards the car.

"I'll meet up with you, Artemis" he said.

Dick turned to Barbara and smiled.

"Have fun in London, Babs." He said before hugging her.

Jason cleared his throat.

"Okay I think that's enough" he said.

Dick let Barbara go and turned around to catch up with Alfred.

He couldn't wait until Junior Year.

**A/N:**

**Okay guys so this chapter, like I said at the beginning, ended up being SOOOOOOO much longer than I anticipated. So, I'm going to anticipate that the next chapter is just going to be insanely long and I hope that's okay. Dick and Barbara will definitely get together next chapter. How or when? I still gotta figure that part out **


	3. Juniors part 1

**I know I've been trolling you guys by not having Dick and Barbara get together but I promise you, they will in this chapter. I'm really starting to wish I wrote this whole thing out in a different way but hey, maybe that could be my next story? Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Junior part 1

Barbara landed in New York at 3 in the morning. She was exhausted but nonetheless happy. Summer had been amazing. While in London, Barbara had managed to bring her Batgirl suit and fought off crime every now and then. She was proud of herself for taking on these independent missions but she couldn't help but wish Robin was there to have her back.

She had kept in touch with Jason, of course. However, she always found herself being the one to reply to his messages. She never texted him first or called him first. Whenever something interesting happened, Jason wasn't the first she would tell. It was always Dick and that bothered her.

Upon arriving at her house, she fell onto her bed without a second thought. School started in a week and she needed to catch up on her sleep.

* * *

Dick got up for the first day of school, exhausted by the mission he was working on the day before. If today wasn't the first day he'd see Barbara in three months, he wouldn't even try getting up that morning.

His first day of Junior year and he was running late. He picked up his schedule from homecoming and dashed into first period.

"Mr. Grayson, looking at your crooked tie, messy hair, and unbuttoned shirt, I'd say you overslept today?" Mr. Patel said to Dick.

"Sorry, sir. Won't happen again" Dick promised.

"I would hope not" Mr. Patel replied as Dick took a random seat.

Dick had not realized that girls were laughing at him. He felt someone poke his shoulder.

"Well well well, puberty's been good to you" he heard a girl coo.

He turned around to see Bette smiling in the seat next to him. He let out a nervous laugh as he quickly buttoned up his shirt. He had never been in the same class as Bette but he guessed he could get used to it. The blonde pointed at something behind him and he turned around to see none other than Barbara Gordon looking through her textbook.

Dick tried to get her attention but realized that the class was supposed to look up a page in their new textbooks. He figured he'd talk to her after class.

* * *

Barbara got out her new textbook ready to start the first day of school with AP biology. As she took out her planner to write down that night's homework, she heard someone rush through the classroom door. As she looked up she saw none other than her best friend, Dick.

He had grown immensely over the summer. His arms were muscular, his face more angular, and she would soon realize that his abs were oh-so-well toned. She wouldn't be surprised if her blushing face wasn't the same color as her hair at this point.

He didn't see her and unconsciously took a seat next to Bette which bothered her a bit. Now that Dick was well…the way he was, she was finding it hard to fully trust Bette being next to him. She decided to turn her attention back to her textbook. She hoped he wouldn't talk to her after class. She just might not be able to talk to him.

Dick looked for Barbara at lunch. He was unable to catch her after first period. They shared 3rd period and 4th period together but unfortunately, so did Jason. Of course, she sat next to Jason and Dick, feeling much more mature than the jealous-sophomore he was, decided to stay out of it. However, this didn't stop him from thinking about the sorts of things Jason and Barbara had been doing.

He was stopped by several girls who attempted to flirt with him but failed and he was honestly getting frustrated. Where was Barbara?

He ran into Artemis.

"Hey Artemis, have you seen Barbara?" he asked. Artemis smiled.

"Yeah. I saw her with Bette, Brooke, and some other girls by the auditorium" she said.

"You're in a good mood for the first day of school" Dick pointed out.

"What can I say? I'm happy to be back" she said smiling.

"Or happy that you and Wally have a date tonight?" Dick said, giving Artemis a nudge on the shoulder.

"Who is this Wally you speak of, Dick?" she asked sarcastically before waving to Dick and walking off.

* * *

Barbara was talking to Bette, Brooke, Natalie, and Katie.

"So how are things between you and Jason?" Katie asked eagerly.

"Girl, spill the beans. How far have you guys gone!?" Natalie asked pushing Katie to the side.

"Girls that's not the big question here" Bette interrupted. "I think the big question is….does Dick have a girlfriend!?" she finished.

At this final question, Barbara nearly choked on her salad. The other girls started to agree, asking more and more questions about Dick's relationship status.

"Why…uh…why do you ask? I mean…uh…why…why does it matter?" Barbara asked.

"Because, girl, puberty hit Dick this summer REAL hard" Natalie stated.

"And his hair during first period! That must be the first time he hasn't slicked back his hair since he started coming to this school and let me just say, he should DEFINITELY keep his hair that way more often" Bette added.

"Who knew that the short, lanky, mathlete Dick would turn into such a hottie?" Katie added.

Barbara was getting uncomfortable with the subject of Dick's body because to be honest, the thought of his abs was actually turning her on.

"'Okay guys! I understand you think Dick is hot and NO he doesn't have a girlfriend" Barbara finally let out in one quick breath.

"Girl you say it like he's some sort of disease. Do you seriously not think he's good looking?" Natalie asked.

"Of course I think he's ho-" Barbara cut herself off before she publicly called Dick 'hot'. "He's handsome. Very handsome" Barbara corrected.

"Well it's good to know he's on the market" Katie said, taking a sip of her vitamin water.

"With abs like his, not for long!" Bette said excitedly.

"Okay guys could we talk about something other than -" Barbara started.

"Dick!" Brooke cried out, pointing behind Barbara.

Barbara turned around only to run into Dick's chest. She pulled back and looked up to him. She didn't realize how tall he'd grown. He could have easily rested his chin on her head.

"Hey Babs, how was London?" he asked.

"Good, Grayson. You?" she asked nervously.

"Well I never went to London but if you're asking about my summer, it was….action-packed" he said with a wink.

Barbara's knees nearly buckled when he winked at her. Damn he was hot. Damn it puberty of all guys to hit hard, why Dick!?

Barbara laughed.

"Action-packed hm? Well I'll have you know that my time in London was also action packed" she said lifting her head with more confidence.

"I'm sure it was, Babs" he said, staring into her eyes.

Barbara was in a trance, staring at him. She didn't care if her friends were laughing at her behind her. Suddenly, Dick lowered his head and looked at his stomach. She hadn't realized that her hands were still on his abs since the second she bumped into him.

Barbara quickly removed her hands and looked off to the side. Dick merely smiled at her before Bette came between them.

"Hey Dick! I was hoping you could tell me what tonight's AP Bio homework is? That'd be great" she said smiling sweetly.

"uh….Sure, Bette" Dick replied as Bette took his arm and guided him off to another hall.

* * *

Barbara looked at herself in the mirror. This was her third homecoming dance and this time she had a date. She was with a different group of friends. Tonight was going to be the equivalent of a triple-date.

Jason was going to walk up to her house and pick her up. They were going to enter a nice limo that Dick so-nicely volunteered to pay for. She would see Artemis with her boyfriend of 2 years - some guy named Wally, and she would also see Bette's arms all around Dick. She knew Dick didn't actually ask Bette. It was more like…Bette forcing Dick to ask her.

She heard the door knock and put on her necklace. Let's dance.

* * *

Barbara found herself dancing on the dance floor with Jason to some upbeat music. She was having fun. Oh yes. A lot of fun. But, she couldn't help but look over at Dick at one of the tables. He was sitting with Wally and Artemis with a bored Bette by his side. It was like Dick had known this Wally guy longer than her, not that it bothered her. Bette would often tug at Dick to get him to dance but he seemed more interested in talking to Artemis and Wally. It surprised her that they didn't mind having Dick there as a sort of third-wheel.

About an hour later, everyone was slow-dancing and much to Bette's liking, Dick was finally dancing with her. The DJ came on and said "all right all right guys. I know I've slowed things down for a bit but as a little challenge to mix things up, I dare you to find a temporarily new dance partner!" before playing a new slow song.

Barbara pulled away from Jason the same moment he pulled away from her.

"Hope you don't mind if I accept the DJ's challenge, babe" he said and she nodded saying

"No it's fine, Jason! Go ahead. It's only one dance"

Jason went off and she saw him tap Artemis's back only to receive a dirty look from Wally.

At that same moment Barbara felt a tap on her back. She turned around to once again bump into Dick.

"oh!" she cried out.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, giving a dramatic bow and offering his hand.

Barbara laughed and took his hand. He brought her hands to his shoulders and placed his own hands on her waist.

"I never got to tell you how beautiful you look in your dress" he said to make small talk.

"I never knew you could work a bowtie so well" she said, adjusting his bowtie so it wasn't crooked.

Dick laughed at her comment. He placed his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes. She stared and found herself parting her lips ever so slightly. Her hands went to his hair which wasn't gelled back (he had stopped gelling down his hair) and she started to run her hands through his hair, slowly pulling his head closer to hers.

Their lips made the smallest bit of contact before.

"Excuse me, you two." said a parent chaperone, separating the two with her hands.

Dick's hands instantly fell from Barbara's waist and cursed to himself as he took a step back. The chaperone left them after giving them a warning.

"Um..uh…I should get back to Bette" Dick said as he backed away from Barbara.

Barbara was tempted to tell Dick to not leave but she reminded herself that she was with Jason, not Dick. As Dick walked off the dance floor, she felt 2 hands wrap around her waist from behind her.

"Hey Babe. Hope you didn't miss me" she heard Jason whisper in her ear. She actually hated when he did that. It wasn't sexy. If anything, his whispers into her ears kind of disturbed her. It wasn't like all those times Dick whispered to her.

She turned around and smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Of course I did" she said.

* * *

It was the day before winter break and Dick looked for Barbara to tell her about their trip to Mount Justice. She still hasn't been able to meet the rest of the gang and he found it funny how Barbara still hadn't figured out who Artemis was.

He turned the corner only to find that Jason had Barbara up against the locker, kissing her intensely. Barbara seemed to be enjoying it by the grunts she made. Dick quickly looked away, ashamed that he had been watching them kiss for the past minute or so. He turned around only to bump into Zatanna.

"Well well well, what is the boy wonder scoping out this time?" she said catching a glimpse around the corner.

"Oh gross, Dick! I never thought of you as the type to-" she started.

"Zatanna wait…I was…it's not what you think…I was looking for Barbara and…and I just…" he stuttered. Zatanna held up her hand and pulled him away from the kissing couple.

"Look Dick, I'm proud of you. I really am. Keeping your distance from Barbara despite how much you love her" Zatanna said.

"Love? Psh who said anything about love, Zatanna? I'm…I'm I'm not in _loovvvee_ with anybody!" Dick said starting to get defensive. Zatanna laughed.

"Relax big boy! Are you saying that if Barbara admitted her love to you, you wouldn't care?" she asked.

Dick kept quiet.

"Mhm. I thought so" Zatanna started.

"Now wait just a minute! I would care! Admitting our love for each other would just ruin our friendship!" he argued.

"So there _is_ love?" Zatanna pointed out.

Dick didn't know what to say.

"ARgh! I'll see you in math" he said, walking away.

* * *

Barbara was walking with Jason through the snowy streets of Gotham. The sun was just starting to set and he held her hand so gently. He had never been so romantic before and she got suspicious.

"Y'know babe, my parents are gone for the rest of winter break. How bout you come over and we could-" he started.

"I don't think so, Jason. I have to finish up some Bio homework." Barbara replied.

"But Babe, couldn't you just work on that tomorrow?" Jason pleaded, his grip on her hand getting a little tighter.

"What would we do at your place, Jason?" she asked innocently.

By now the two had stopped walking and sat down on a bench.

"Well you know, talk, kiss, maybe a little more" he said with a grin.

"Thanks, but no thanks" Barbara replied getting up.

Jason gripped her hand.

"No thanks!? Barbara we've been dating for a pretty long time now and we haven't even made it to second base! When will you - " he stopped as Barbara pulled out of his grip and pushed him back onto the bench.

She started walking off but he grabbed her by the waist. She was about to knee him in the balls when she heard Artemis out of nowhere calling her name.

"Barb! Get in the car!" Artemis said in the car in the street.

Barbara had never been so happy to see Artemis. She looked to Jason who let her go. As she approached the car he grabbed her wrist one last time.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I love you, okay?" he said.

Barbara smiled weakly.

"I know" she replied. But she knew she was lying.

* * *

Barbara got into the car, taking shotgun.

"Thank you so much, Artemis" she said.

"Don't thank me yet" Artemis said in an uneasy tone.

"Hi Barbara!" said someone in the back.

Barbara quickly turned around to see that Zatanna was also in the car.

"uh…hi Zatanna!" Barbara replied. She turned to Artemis.

"So Artemis…where are we going?" Barbara asked.

"The Batcave" Artemis said.

Barbara's eyes widened.

"you guys know about the…" she started.

"Oh honey, there are _lots_ of things you don't know about" Zatanna informed her.

* * *

The three girls greeted Alfred as they entered the bat cave. Barbara still wasn't used to the fact that Zatanna and Artemis knew about the bat cave. On the rest of their way home, they filled her in on Mount Justice and how the Joker had led the Injustice league on a breakout of Arkham Asylum. Dick was able to somehow find out about the breakout before the Justice League so he and the Young Justice crew went to see what they could do.

Barbara quickly went to the seat by the main computer and slouched. She was overwhelmed with the information she was told. The mission, Artemis and Zatanna's hero identities, the fact that that Wally kid was also a member of the Young Justice crew, their home on Mount Justice, etc.

She spun herself in her chair and was stopped by a Zatanna who had changed into her usual magician's suit. Barbara did a double-take making Zatanna laugh.

"it's okay, Barb. Dick was just like that when we first met" she said brewing up a cup of hot cocoa with magic.

Barbara took a sip and finally relaxed as Artemis changed into her archer's suit.

"Whoa whoa. Should I be changing too?" Barbara asked.

"You actually might want to. We'll fill you in on more information as you change" Artemis said, handing Barbara her batgirl suit, confused at how Artemis knew about her hero costume.

As Barbara was changing, Artemis and Zatanna continued to fill her in on the almost-completely-failed mission with Joker. That is until Zatanna brought up a touchy subject.

"You must be wondering about Robin" she said. Barbara paused what she was doing.

"Um…you know…he actually hadn't come across my mind" she said, resuming what she was doing.

"Oh please, even we were worried about him and we were there with him" Artemis said.

"Pfft you may have been worried about Dick but you were definitely more worried about Wally" Zatanna said. Barbara could practically hear the smirk on Zatanna's face. There was a pregnant pause between the three.

Barbara stepped out in her batgirl costume. Artemis and Zatanna looked at her like two proud parents. She suddenly felt self-conscious until Zatanna complimented how the suit made her curves stand out.

"Not as much as Artemis's suit that's for sure" Barbara pointed out. The three laughed until Artemis's happy face became a serious one.

"Anyway, we gotta get to Mount Justice" she said.

"Now? How!?" Barbara said.

"Clearly, Dick never told you about the transporter in that dark alley" Zatanna said.

They walked out into the dark streets of Gotham. Barbara followed Zatanna and Artemis into a deserted, dark, and dirty alley. There was a random phone booth that looked busted up.

"I'll go first, then you okay Batgirl?" Artemis said. Barbara nodded, happy that they acknowledged her hero name.

Artemis entered the phone booth which immediately emitted a bright light. Zatanna giggled at Barbara's surprised face. Barbara hesitantly opened the door and entered. Before she could step back out, she found her surroundings changing. She closed her eyes. When the sounds disappeared, she opened her eyes and saw that she was in some sort of room with a large opening to an even bigger room. She walked forward and ran into a green girl.

"Oooohh you must be Batgirl! Oh Robin's spoken so highly of you! Oh…hello megan! Introduce yourself! Hi I'm M'gann, aka Miss Martian, but you can just call me Megan" she said, stretching her hand out to greet Barbara.

"Um…hi…Megan…where am I?" Barbara asked.

"Sweetie, you're on Mount Olympus" Kid Flash said. Barbara jumped suddenly realizing that Kid Flash was next to her. She looked at him.

"Wall-?" she started saying his name when he quickly covered her mouth. His eyes looked to Megan and she nodded her head.

"Don't overwhelm her, KF" Artemis said, coming up behind Barbara and approaching Wally. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning back to Barbara.

"You must be wondering what you're doing here, right Batgirl?" she said.

"Um…I guess so yeah" Barbara responded.

"Well, it's about-" Artemis started.

A tall black guy with short white hair and startling bright eyes walked in saying "Robin still hasn't waken up"

Barbara's eyes grew wide and she turned to face the man.

"Oh. Is this Batgirl? My apologies, I did not mean to let her know about Robin so soon" he said.

"Where's Di- I mean where's Robin!?" Barbara said.

"Relax Batgirl, he's going to be fi-" Zatanna started.

Barbara walked up to Artemis.

"Artemis, please take me to him. Now." Barbara enunciated.

Artemis nodded and started walking towards a certain hall. Barbara kept up with her, walking side by side.

When Barbara was out of sight, Megan turned to Zatanna and Kaldur.

"I see why Robin thought it was so important to go to Homecoming" she said smiling.

Superboy heard this from his place in the background and took note to ask Megan to the next class in a special way.

* * *

Artemis and Barbara reached a door. Before Barbara could touch the doorknob, Artemis blocked the way.

"Before you go in, you should know what's going on with him. He got a bad cut across his entire back from one of Joker's crazy pieces of machinery, he has a cracked rib from taking a kick from Bane, there are a few cuts and bruises on his face, neck, and shoulders, his right foot was twisted, but his arms are amazingly unharmed." She said.

It was a lot for Barbara to take in and she was almost in tears. Artemis gave her a hug.

"It's okay, Barbara" she said, knowing that no one would hear her real name. Artemis pulled back. "The only reason he's like this is because he took on the most difficult part of the mission in which I shall spare you the details."

Barbara nodded and entered the room. If she was about to cry at the _sound_ of what had happened to Dick, she was sobbing at the _sight_ of what had happened to him.

She took a seat next to his bed. He had a bandage on his cheek. She could see a bruise on his lip and the side of his neck. He wore a sleeveless white shirt and a blanket covered everything below his mid-stomach.

Barbara didn't know what came over her. She stood up and bent over Dick's near-lifeless body and pressed her lips to his. When he didn't respond, her tears rushed out even harder. She removed her mask and held his hand.

She never left his side that night.

* * *

Dick woke up at around 2 in the morning. At first he didn't know where he was but soon realized that he was in his Mount Justice room. He reached to turn on a lamp but his hand ran into someone. He jumped back in his bed only to let out a small grunt in pain.

He stayed still. The person he had run into didn't move. He carefully turned on his lamp and under the light, saw a flash of red. There in front of him with her body hung over the side of his bed, her back bobbing up and down in rhythm with her breathing.

Dick's mind was flooded with dozens of questions. What had happened? What was Barbara doing here? How long had he been out? What day was it? What did Barbara now know seeing as she was on Mount Olympus? Was he dreaming?

Barbara's hand moved towards his and he thought she was awake but she wasn't. He smiled at his friend. After examining the damage done to his body, he looked back at Barbara one last time. He took her hand in his and went back to sleep.

* * *

Barbara woke upon the day of Christmas Eve. The events of the night before came rushing back to her and she quickly looked up in search of Dick only to find that he wasn't there. She started to wonder and hope that what happened to Dick was just a bad dream but it wasn't.

She got up and looked around his room. So this is where he went off to so often that summer after Freshman year. On his desk, she various pictures of him and various team members. Finally, she saw a picture of him and her. It was Barbara's 10th birthday and it was the first time she met Dick. Initially, the two didn't fully get along. She didn't understand what he had just gone through and he was in no mood to socialize. Boy have things changed. She smiled at the memories.

Suddenly the door behind her opened and Barbara quickly pulled her mask over her head. In walked Dick wrapped in a robe with Wally on one side and a crutch on the other.

"Oh good! You're up, Batgirl. You think you can handle Dick from this point on?" Wally said.

Barbara ran up to Dick.

"Yeah Wally I got this" she said, taking hold of Dick.

"All right. Need anything, just give any of us a shout out!" Wally said, saluting to Batgirl before running off.

* * *

Christmas morning, Barbara guided Dick to the meeting room near the transporters. On several occasions, she wondered if she should have kissed him but ultimately decided against it.

"Batgirl, I asked Artemis and Zatanna to bring your Christmas gift to Mount Justice!" he said after she asked him why he wanted to go to that room most of all.

"Robin you didn't have to get me anything! How did you manage to get me anything with the mission and everything anyway?" she asked.

" Well…I've kind of had this gift ready to give to you since homecoming." he started. He then turned his head to her and went close to her ear and said "I'm really good at hiding stuff, Babs"

She didn't know how she had managed to stay standing with him whispering into her ears about every hour. When did his voice become so…seductive?

Dick himself was wondering how he hadn't gotten any arousals seeing as he was almost always in close proximity with Barbara. She was literally at his side the whole time with the exception of eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. The night of Christmas eve, Barbara had roomed with Artemis. But by now, he had memorized exactly where the curves of her body were, how toned her arms were, and how sexy her body was. Of course, that wasn't the only thing he liked about her. It was a major bonus.

They arrived by the transporter where Barbara saw something underneath a cloth with a messy bowtie on it. She looked over to Dick and smiled.

"I fixed the bowtie while you were showering. I know it's messy but it's-" he was cut off with Barbara hugging him. She pulled back and ran over to the gift. She slowly pulled the cloth off the gift. Slowly, a beautiful motorcycle was revealed. It was purple, grey, and black and had a bat on it, of course.

Barbara squealed and turned to Dick.

"Oh Dick I love it! It must have cost a fortune!" she said, taking a seat on it.

Dick merely shrugged when suddenly Kid Flash popped up.

"Whoa! Robin! You've never gotten MEEE anything THIS nice for Christmas!" he exclaimed. He leaned in close to Robin.

"hint hint?" Kid Flash growled out before Artemis pulled him back and revealed a huge chocolate cake that said ' Merry Christmas, KF '

Kid Flash smiled at Artemis.

"Babe, you complete me" he said before kissing Artemis. She'd never admit that Megan helped make the majority of the cake.

Megan came into the room with Superboy.

"oh wow Robin! How did you ever afford that for Batgirl!?" she asked, flying over to Batgirl who was adoring the new motorcycle.

"The Big Bats helped me out a little bit" Dick replied, trying to hide his blush.

"Well guys? Let's stop standing around here! There's more presents in the common room! Come on!" Megan said cheerfully. She flew out, pulling Superboy along with her.

It was Barbara and Dick's best Christmas ever.

* * *

2 weeks after returning to school, Dick was still recovering. He no longer needed crutches but kept a knee brace on and walked with a limp. His back arched forward a bit in pain of his still-healing rib. Batman was forcing him to stay away from anymore missions for the time being.

Girls all over the school volunteered to take care of him. Those who couldn't get anywhere near him would often bring him sweets and home-made treats to 'make him feel better'. However, it was always Barbara who was there to help him, heal him, shield him, and protect him. If a girl got between her helpful hands and Dick's injuries, one glare from her would have that girl running for the Olympic Gold Medal.

It was lunchtime and Barbara opened her locker to get some of Dick's medicine out. She placed it in her backpack and as she reached for her AP World History textbook, Jason came up and shut her locker.

"Babe! You stop texting me in the middle of winter break, you don't explain where you went with that Artemis girl, then suddenly you come back to school with Dick and you're all over him!" he says following her as she walks to where she usually meets Dick.

"Dick needs me right now" she said plainly.

"Babe what about me, though!?" Jason says, forcefully turning Barbara around.

"Jason, you may be my boyfriend but Dick is injured and I need to go help him" she said pulling out of his grip.

"Boyfriend? Hardly! You don't talk to me, you don't kiss me, and you refuse to go any further than that! What kind of a girlfriend are you!?" he says raising his voice.

Barbara, fed up with Jason's feeling of self-importance, turned back to him with a glare in her eyes and a flushed face.

"An ex-girlfriend! That's the kind of girlfriend I am! Oh and one more thing, it doesn't hurt to call me by my name, BAR-BRAH." she said, enunciating her name clearly.

"Are you breaking up with me? Babe! I mean Barbara! Come on! No one breaks up with Jason!" he said, walking to keep up with her pace.

"Jason. We're through" Barbara finally said.

Jason stopped in his tracks as Barbara kept walking.

"Fine! Go be with that dick you call your friend! He'll never love someone like you, BAR-BRAH! I've seen the way he looks at Artemis and Zatanna and Bette!" he said but she was already an earshot away. Nothing that jerk Jason said could make her believe Dick didn't care about her. She knew he did.

She walked with newfound pride, confidence, and a sense of freedom. She finally saw Dick talking with his friend, Jackson. They were by Jackson's locker with Dick leaning against the locker nextdoor. She walked up to Dick.

"Hey Babs! You got my medicine?" he said with that million dollar smile. She nearly melted at the sight of it. Without a second thought, she grabbed his tie and pulled him to her so she could finally kiss while he was conscious.

Her right hand went to his cheek and his hands instantly went to her hips. Barbara had never felt this way kissing Jason. With Jason, the kisses had become more of a chore. Even in the beginning his kisses seemed very…wrong. Kissing Dick only confirmed how wrong it had been to kiss Jason.

Jackson quietly closed his locker.

"Oi…get a room you two!" he said, smiling for his friend.

Barbara was about to push herself closer to Dick when he pulled away, causing her to whimper for a split second. Dick looked over at Jackson and gave a smirk before taking Barbara's hand and pulling into a nearby empty classroom.

"Babs…as much as I _loved_ that…I uh….I thought you were with-" he started.

"Ugh don't even say his name. I broke up with the jerk on my way to find you" she said walking towards Dick. He walked backwards as she walked forward and he eventually hit a wall.

"Barbara, don't you think it's a little too early to just move on like that?" Dick said, kissing Barbara back as she kissed his lips.

"Mmm not unless it means I get to be with you" she said between kisses.

Dick kissed her back passionately, pressing his slightly-bruised lips to hers only to pull back again.

"Okay okay fine. But…maybe we could just…keep _us_ a secret for a bit? I don't need Jason beating me up cuz I'm supposedly the reason his girlfriend broke up with him" he said.

Barbara stepped back. A secret relationship? The thought was intriguing. She looked up to Dick and how gorgeous he was.

"He would've eventually broken up with me if I didn't sleep with him by our 1 year anniversary anyway. But I guess you're right. I don't want him beating you up because of me." she kissed him again, with as much love as she could. "This will be our little secret then" she whispered into his ear.

"Wow that was hot" Dick said before going in for another kiss.

Barbara pulled away and it was Dick's turn to whimper. She smiled.

"just make sure you keep that Jackson friend quiet. Otherwise, I don't think anyone else saw us in that hallway" she said before wrapping her fingers in Dick's hair and pulling him in for another mind blowing kiss.

**A/N: okay. This chapter was getting lengthy so I decided to split it into two. The next part ( which will include the rest of their Junior year and maybe part of the summer ) should be up pretty soon! Like every other story/chapter I've posted so far, this ended up being MUCH longer than I expected. I don't plan to split them up now that they're technically together so…no worries bout that :D**

**Anyway, stay tuned for the next part of their Junior Year!**


	4. Juniors part 2

**A/N: Wow a month already? I must seriously APOLOGIZE for the delay. I am SOOO sorry I kept you guys waiting but thank you so much for still reading **** I guess this chapter's a little more lovey-dovey than I expected it to be. I still hope you enjoy it though :D**

Chapter 4: Junior Year Part 2

The April showers were over and the May flowers were beginning to grow in. Barbara got to school 20 minutes early to meet up with her boyfriend, Dick. The sound of it still made her giddy. Her _boyfriend_ was none other than Dick. As she sat on a bench, she took out her English textbook and started getting a head start on that night's homework. As she opened the book, her vision was blocked by someone's hands.

"Guess who" she heard Dick say.

"No idea who you are, stranger" she said smiling and turning her head to see him. He jumped over the bench and sat next to her. His leg had improved tremendously fast but his rib was still hurting him a bit. He refused to let her see his scars on his chest though she could catch a glimpse of them when after a make out session where she was able to unbutton his top few buttons.

Dick leaned in to kiss Barbara. Man he would never get tired of kissing this girl. Her lips were just pure heaven. He melted under her touch. Her hands drifted towards his chest when he felt a sudden pang of pain and jumped back.

"Oh my gosh, Dick!" Barbara said in concern.

"Agh…my chest…it must be from the cuts but they've never stung this bad before." Dick said, trying to look down his shirt without unbuttoning it. Barbara put her hands to her mouth in shock.

"So this isn't the first time it's happened!?" Barbara said raising her voice.

"Babs, it's fine. I've been using the ointment Alfred's giving me and you've been making sure I got my pills so it's all good" he said trying to calm her down.

"At least let me see how bad it is" she said, moving her hands to his first button. He pushed her hands away.

"Babs, I don't think that's a good idea" he said as she put her hands on his chest again. She put her face close to his so he could feel her sweet breath on his face.

"If you won't let me see them, would you let me kiss them?" she asked giving him a puppy-face.

He thought about it. The thought of Barbara's lips on his chest, kissing away the pain, actually turned him on….a lot. He started blushing and Barbara laughed at his embarrassment.

"Well I guess you could-" he was cut off when he saw Bette arriving at school. He quickly pulled away from Barbara, buttoning up the few buttons she had undone.

Barbara quickly turned around to see what Dick was looking at and saw Bette waving to them in the distance. Both Dick and Barbara quickly got up and walked towards Bette, Dick's face still red from the thought of having Barbara's mouth all over him.

She laughed and tousled his hair.

"Maybe later?" she said as Bette got closer.

Barbara couldn't blame Bette or Brooke for continuing to flirt with Dick. They didn't know about their secret relationship. They only people who knew were Jackson, Artemis, and Wally. The only way Jackson was kept under control was with the constant threats from Artemis.

"So Dick, the prom's coming up. Is there anyone you plan to take?" Brooke said getting uncomfortably close to Dick. For a math genius and hero, Dick was incredibly naïve about girls flirting with him, which only made Barbara more protective.

"Um…well…I'm not…so…sure about" he stammered.

Barbara thought it was time to intervene.

"Dick's schedule is a little wobbly on the night of prom, right Dick?" she said looking at him.

"Right! Bruce is planning a few things. Father-and-son bonding maybe? But I'll have to see" he said smoothly.

"Well just in case, I'm completely free that night" Brooke said with a wink before walking off.

Barbara watched her walk off as Dick opened his locker to put one of his textbooks away.

"I swear I'm going to rip her head off any second" Barbara said through gritted teeth.

Dick laughed. "Why have you been so hard on Brooke and Bette lately, Babs?" he said lowering his head to her.

She sighed before smiling sweetly up at him. "Because of you, dummy" she said, desperately wishing she could kiss him right there.

" Well why am I the reason you're so uptight around them when I'm around?" Dick asked.

"You wouldn't understand, Dick" she said before walking off to class.

"Artemis! Hey could I ask you something?" Dick said, stopping Artemis in the hallway.

"Yea what's up?" she said.

"Well…see…it's about Barbara and-" he said before stopping as Artemis laughed. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You've known the girl since you were 9 and you're asking _me_ questions about her?" she asked, laughing more now that his ears were turning red.

"Yeah well I'm still a guy! I miss things every now and then" he said, trying to playfully defend himself.

"Yeah but you're _robin_! You're one of the best hackers/detectives I know!" she said, giving him a friendly nudge.

"All right all right are you going to help me or not?" he said, putting on his best puppy dog face.

She laughed even harder at this attempt. "Yeah sure whatcha got?" she said.

"Okay well see….ever since Babs and I started secretly dating she's gotten upset with her friends a lot more often." he said in a rushed voice. He slowed down. "and I mean…it's _every_ time I see them" he said.

"Wow…you really are a dick!" Artemis said with a wide smile.

"Yeah okay that's not going to explain what's going on with Barbara. I was wondering if she was having any girl troubles of any sort?" he asked.

"I'll have you know that she does NOT in fact have any girl troubles with any of her friends. But as for what's really going on, yes I know what it is and no, I'm not going to tell you because that's something Boy Wonder has to figure out for himself" she said before giving him a pat on the back and walking away.

Dick grunted in confusion.

"How have you _not_ hit that up yet, Dick?" asked Nathan.

Dick looked behind him to see what Nathan was staring at to see that it was Barbara. Dick instantly felt like punching Nathan but bit his tongue.

"Babs and I are just friends" he said quickly.

"So you wouldn't mind if I tried to get a date with her?" asked Jones.

Dick nearly choked on his pizza.

"Of course he'd mind! Becaauusseee….he'd rather have _me_ date her, right Dick?" asked Cody.

"Like Barbara Gordon would go for someone like you, Cody" interjected Stanley. "when she could clearly have someone like me" he finished.

"Dude you can have any girl in this school and you're friends with one of the hottest girls in our grade, how are you single?" Nathan said.

"Dude she's coming over!" Stanley pointed out. Dick turned around and saw Barbara was only a few steps away. When she got to Dick, she placed her arm around his neck.

"Hey so I'm coming over today to study right, Dick?" she asked, really close to his ear. Her hand drifted to his chest and started lightly rubbing his chest.

"Definitely, Babs" he said, turning to face her and coming nose to nose with her.

She smiled and pulled away, placing her hands on her waist. "Good! See you after school" she said. She walked away, purposely swaying her hips a little more. Dick was completely mesmerized until Cody opened his mouth.

"A girl with an ass like that shouldn't go to waste" said Cody.

Dick's eyes widened as his friends continued to point out parts of Barbara's body. He suddenly got up and threw his trash away and started walking off.

"Hey man get me a date with her?" Cody asked.

"No, Dick's definitely gonna help ME get a date with Babe Gordon" Stanley said.

Dick didn't care where he was going, he just needed to get away. He wished Jackson was there to stop them from continuing the talk about Barbara but he was out sick.

As Dick left the cafeteria to walk around the rest of the school, Barbara saw he had an angry face. She quickly got up from her group to walk with him.

"I'll talk to you guys later" she said, picking up her books.

As she walked away, she heard Katie mumble to the others. "I swear, she's either his girlfriend, or his mother".

Barbara ignored this and caught up to Dick who was walking off quickly. The halls were filled with freshmen and sophomores. He went outside and went to one of the trees in the school's garden. He punched the tree and sat under its shade, covering his eyes.

Barbara finally caught up to him.

"Dick? What'd your friends say this time?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her with a sweet smile.

"I'm not mad, if that's what you're implying" he said.

"Well you certainly seem annoyed" she replied, crossing her arms.

He frowned and looked away. She tried to pull his face to look back at her but he didn't want to.

"Dick why won't you tell me what's wrong!?" she asked.

This seemed all too familiar. Everything suddenly clicked in Dick's head. Barbara wasn't upset with her friends for any girl-reasons. She was upset because they wouldn't stop talking to him. How could he have been so blind? But…why wouldn't she just say so!?

"For the same reason you won't tell me how I'm the reason you're upset with your friends!" he said, raising his voice slightly as he stood up and leaned against the tree.

Barbara stood up, too.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said.

"Oh come on, Barbara. I now understand that you're upset because they keep flirting with me!" he said with his eyebrows furrowed. His facial expression softened immediately. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, getting closer to her.

"Well…what was I supposed to say? I didn't want to seem…unconfident about us…I know you wouldn't cheat on me but…they just kept making it harder and harder for me to believe it! And the fact that you were so oblivious to their flirting just…it pissed me off!" she said, pushing him at the tree.

She looked at him, her chest heaving. She was glad that no one they knew was close by. The Freshmen and Sophomores all stayed in their little cliques, not paying attention to the only Juniors in the vicinity.

Dick gave a sigh of surrender and relaxed against the tree. Barbara's hands were crossed as she stared Dick down. Her eyes were narrowed.

"The guys were talking about…you…and stuff" he said quietly.

"I'm sorry?" she said in a strict tone.

"The guys okay Babs? They want to date you and stuff. And when you left our table, they started…commenting on…you…and stuff" he said, clearly but nervously.

"What did they say about me…_exactly_?" she said trying to get him to speak louder and to explain himself better.

Dick took a deep breath and looked at Barbara with a pout which made her smirk.

"The guys talked about how sexy your ass was and it bothered me, okay?" he said, looking up to her through his hair.

Barbara tried to keep her pokerface on but in all honesty, the fact that Dick was upset about other guys checking her out made her giddy inside. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one having jealous feelings in their relationship. In addition, she thought Dick looked damn sexy when he was jealous and protective. However, she wasn't going to let him go that easily.

"Oh? And _why_ did that bother you?" she asked.

Dick looked at her with a friendly yet somehow-serious glare.

"Because, Gordon." he said with a pause. He tugged on Barbara's sweater vest. "I think _I_ should be the only one who's allowed to think those sorts of things"

Barbara's smirk turned into a full-blown smile. She grabbed his tie and pulled him off the tree.

"Are you saying that you like my butt?" she asked.

"Well it's kind of hard not to with the way you wear that skirt" Dick replied, his ears turning red.

"What's wrong with the way I wear my skirt? It still covers everything" she asked puppy dog eyes and an innocent pout.

"It's too sexy for your own good" he said smirking. Barbara could feel herself starting to blush.

"Well if any of your friends say anything again, think of it this way…" Barbara said before going on her tiptoes so her lips were next to Dick's ear. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "…it's all for you"

Dick's blush spread from his ears to his face as Barbara pulled away.

"Gosh if only I could kiss you now" he said.

Barbara smiled and gave him a hug.

"Well I'll see you 6th period, Dick!" she said before walking away and swaying her hips again. She could feel Dick's eyes glued to her.

She'd never admit it to him, but she really _had_ been wearing her skirt a little higher ever since they became a couple. Not "I'm-a-slut" high, but just high enough for Dick to notice.

"Ugh I'm never going to be ready for the AP exam!" Dick said in frustration as Barbara came in with two bottles of cream soda.

"Well maybe if you concentrated a little harder you'd be much more prepared" Barbara said taking her seat next to him.

"It's kinda hard to concentrate with you…being you" he said, glancing a look at her.

Barbara smiled to herself. She had secretly deliberately been trying to distract Dick, whether it was unbuttoning her school blouse a little more than usual or having her skirt ride up whenever she sat down near him. They hadn't been able to really kiss each other for the past three weeks (with the whole 'secret relationship' and AP exam review) and both were honestly getting frustrated.

"Well if I'm being so distracting, why do you insist on me helping you study?" she asked innocently.

"Cuz you're the only one patient enough to deal with my complaining" he said before turning to kiss her cheek. As he returned to his textbook, Barbara pulled his lips to hers. She had forgotten how good it felt to kiss Dick. He sucked on her lower lip and she let out a light moan. She pulled back in shock as to what she just did. She had never moaned before, at least not in front of Dick.

Dick looked at her with a confused look before realizing what she was embarrassed about. He smiled before pulling her back in for another kiss. She tentatively kissed him back before she started playing with his hair. As her hands massaged his scalp, he let out a moan between their kisses. Barbara realized that Dick's moans were also super sexy. She was turned on even more and pushed Dick into the corner of the couch. Barbara adjusted herself so she was sitting on Dick's lap. His hands went to her hips.

"Babs, what if your dad comes home?" Dick asked between kisses. Barbara continued to kiss him passionately.

"Don't talk" she let out and he took that chance to kiss her neck. Barbara tried hard not to moan but she lost it when he reached a certain spot on her neck. Her hands immediately rushed to his shirt. She started to unbutton his shirt as his hands started sliding lower and lower. Suddenly, Dick heard a car door close just outside. He quickly moved his hands to her midriff and gently pushed her away.

"What is it now, Dick?" Barbara asked in an exasperated voice as she moved off his lap. Dick was desperately trying to button up his shirt as quickly as possible.

"Didn't you hear the door close outside, Babs?" he asked. Barbara quickly got up and went to the window, fixing her hair and skirt on the way. After looking out the window she turned back to Dick.

"Dick, that was the neighbor's car." she said with a disappointed look. Dick merely stared at her with his hands fixed on his tie.

"Oh" he said, looking down.

" 'oh' is right. Dick, way to mess up an entirely-" she said when she heard another car door close. She looked outside to see that it was her dad.

"Shit!" Dick said, quickly fixing his tie and tucking in his shirt. Barbara quickly fixed her hair and opened the door for Commissioner Gordon.

"Hi daddy" Barbara greeted with a big smile.

"Good evening, Barb" he said, giving a kiss on her cheek as he walked in. "Do you have a friend over that I should know about?" he asked, pointing to the extra backpack on the couch. Dick was out of sight.

"Oh Dick's still here" Barbara said, pouring a glass of water for her father.

"Still? You kids must have been doing a lot of studying then if he's still here at 9pm" he said.

"Well it _is_ the AP exam, daddy" Barbara said. Dick walked in at that moment.

"Commissioner" he said professionally as he shook Mr. Gordon's hand.

"Richard! My you've grown into a man! You're taller than me!" he said with a tired smile.

"Daddy you said that last time" Barbara said.

"His growth still perplexes me, Barb, I can't help it!" the Commissioner responded. "Well I'll leave you two kids to your studying. Not too late, got it Richard? I know you guys are just friends but I'm completely aware of teenage hormones and-"

"We get it, daddy" Barbara said sitting back down on the couch.

"I was actually just leaving, sir" Dick added in as he packed his things.

When Commissioner Gordon disappeared upstairs, Dick started heading for the door.

"Dick you don't have to go _now_ you know?" Barbara said.

"It's getting late anyway, Babs. I'll see you tomorrow?" Dick asked. Barbara let out a sigh and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Okay" she said before Dick quickly added in "Oh and how does prom sound to you?"

Barbara looked at him with a confused look.

"I thought…how can we…Jason and Bette and everyone…they'll –" she stammered.

"We'll go to Wally's school. He's going with Artemis. Zatanna even found a date to go with her to the Keystone High school's prom." He added in.

Barbara smiled at Dick. How could she have not thought of that before?

"You better brush up on your dancing, Boy Wonder" she said before he smiled and finally left.

"I still don't see how you've kept your relationship a secret from your own father" Artemis said to Barbara as she applied some lipstick.

"Yeah. Doesn't he think you guys are dating seeing as you guys are going to prom together?" Zatanna asked, taking a seat on Barbara's bed.

The girls had all met up at Barbara's house to get ready for prom. The boys would pick them up at 6 to go to prom and they were all honestly excited.

"He thinks we're just going as friends. Maybe he can't bare the thought of his only little girl finally dating" Barbara said, putting the finishing touches of makeup on her face.

"Well in all honesty, I'd be surprised if you guys _didn't_ get together anytime soon" Zatanna added as she magically changed the color of her shoes to her liking.

"And why's that?" Barbara asked, looking directly at Zatanna with a real look of questioning.

"Well you guys are best friends! Known each other since you were nine _and_ let's all face it, none of us knew that that loveable, short, childish kid we all knew would turn into a real hunk of a man" Artemis said with a smile, giving Barbara a pat on the shoulder.

"Okay guys, this is my boyfriend remember!" Barbara said with a friendly laugh.

"Oh trust me, we know" Artemis said as she straightened her dress.

Zatanna walked over to Artemis to adjust her dress straps. "Yeah. We saw your little escapade at lunch a few weeks ago. I didn't know two people could keep their lips locked that long without coming up for breath" Zatanna said with a wide smile as Barbara blushed.

"How long were you guys-" Barbara started.

"Long enough to see that you were practically marking him as yours" Artemis said as Zatanna laughed. Before Barbara could reply, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh! Let the night of our lives start" said Zatanna.

"Are you _sure_ it's okay?" Jackson asked Dick one more time that night.

"Dude, relax! You asked Zatanna to prom and she said yes. I'm not her boyfriend anymore, I don't have the right to control her. Just make sure she has a great time tonight, kay buddy?" Dick said, giving Jackson a rough pat on his back. Jackson's nervous face only worsened.

"Dick, tie or bowtie?" Wally said, coming out of the bathroom in his tux.

"Uh…tie? I really don't know. I'm sure Artemis won't care" Dick said.

The boys had all met up at Wayne Manor. Bruce was kind enough to rent a limo for them all to take to the Barbara's house. Dick had to drive to the store quickly though because Wally forgot a corsage.

"Ugh Dude! It's our _senior_ prom! You've got another year to make Barbara's night magical!" Wally said in desperation.

"okay! Uh…bowtie." Dick decided.

"Bowtie. Right. I've got this" Wally said with confidence.

Dick turned to look at his friends. "Guys….what color tie should I wear?" he asked holding an orange and grey tie in his hands.

"Got any other colors?" Jackson asked. Dick immediately went to one of his many drawers in his oversized room. He pulled out every tie that was inside and dumped it on the bed.

"Dude. Do you collect ties as a hobby or something? Cause you should really consider just collecting souvenirs from missions like me" Wally said as he sorted out the various ties on Dick's bed.

Dick gave Wally a serious look in which Wally backed off slightly. "Alfred likes to get me ties for Christmas"

"Mind if I borrow this tie, Dick?" Jackson asked.

Dick nodded before adding "Help me pick a color, guys!" Dick said.

"Oh sure, 'tie-or-bowtie' isn't as important as 'what-color'" Wally said as he threw the ugly ties off to the side.

"Zatanna said something about dress shopping and how sometimes girls choose a color that matches their partner's eyes. Why don't you choose something that matches her eyes?" Jackson suggested.

Dick looked to his friend with enlightenment.

"Jackson that has to be the smartest thing you have _ever_ said to me in the 5 years I've known you!" Dick said as he ruffled Jackson's brown hair.

"Aw man! I just fixed it!" Jackson said trying to fix his hair back to the way it had been.

Wally came and messed up his hair even further. "I doubted you at first, Jackson. But ya know what? I think you'll take care of Dick just fine while I'm in college"

Dick quickly searched for a tie that matched Barbara's blue eyes. There were blue ties with red streaks, blue ties with golden flecks, dark blue ties and blue ties that were just too bright. None of them matched Barbara's eyes perfectly. He grunted in disappointed before he saw Wally fixing his bowtie in the mirror.

"Wally…your bowtie" Dick said.

"Yeah you're totally right man! Bowties are totally my thing" Wally said with pride.

"it's the perfect blue" Dick said.

"your point?" Wally asked.

Dick stretched his hand out with a begging look on his face.

Wally sighed. "I get to use any of your ties though. _And_ I get to keep three of them. No man should own that many ties" Wally said as he removed his bowtie.

"Guys we're gonna be late" Jackson said. They all rushed out of Wayne Manor, Dick and Wally putting on their bowtie and tie in the limo and Jackson combing his hair to perfection.

"Welcome to Keystone High's prom!" Wally said as each pair entered the school's gym.

"I like it. Not so over-the-top like Gotham Academy" Dick said.

"Exactly what I was thinking" Artemis added in as she pulled Wally to the dance floor.

"Oh I love this song! Come on Jackson" Zatanna said pulling a nervous Jackson to the floor. "Weren't your shoes a different color in the car?" he quickly asked as he followed her. Dick laughed at his friend. He couldn't help but be happy for him _and_ Zatanna. He looked over at Barbara who was already smiling at him. She quickly looked away.

"What is it, Babs?" he asked turning to her.

"This is the first dance we've gone to…well…together" she said.

Dick thought about this. "you're right!" he said. She smiled at him.

"Would m'lady like to dance?" he asked.

"I would love to, kind sir" she said as he put his hand out for her to take.

They had about another 30 minutes before prom was officially over. They were playing a slow song and everyone was on the dance floor.

"Did I tell you how much I liked your tie?" Artemis said to Wally.

"Well I was going to wear a bowtie but- " Wally replied.

"Oh no no. _The_ Kid Flash in a bowtie? Unheard of" she said getting closer to him.

"What's wrong with me in a bowtie?" Wally asked.

"It's more of a 'Dick' thing. You're a tie kind of man" she replied before kissing him to shut him up.

"No more questions okay?" she said when she pulled back.

On the other end of the dance floor, Zatanna lay her head on Jackson's chest.

"Why are you nervous?" she asked.

"Nervous? I-I'm not nervous, Zee" he replied.

"Jackson ever since you picked me up, you've been so tense. Just…relax" she said.

"That's pretty hard when you're dancing with the prettiest girl here" Jackson said.

"Did you get that from Wally?" she asked.

"Wally? No! But I'm sure he and Dick would disagree with me" he said.

"Well that was sweet" Zatanna said with a smile. "you're doing fine, Jackson. Now relax? Please?"

"I'll try" Jackson said.

"Maybe this will help" Zatanna said as she leaned up to kiss Jackson. It helped a lot.

On the left side of the floor was Barbara Gordon, finally dancing with her boyfriend, Dick Grayson.

"I never thought I'd say this but, you can really pull off a bowtie, Grayson" Barbara said with her head against Dick's chest.

"You think? I wasn't sure I mean I was originally going to wear a tie but none of the ties were….the right color…uh…this is actually Wally's bowtie…I'm rambling…" he said and then cleared his throat.

"What do you mean the right color?" she asked.

"I mean…it didn't…because…" he stuttered.

"It's blue, Dick. It's a pretty blue….but also a pretty normal blue…what makes this blue so special?" she asked.

"It…didn't look right…with the suit…" He said plainly. Batgirl looked at him with an unrelenting look. She couldn't care less. She was dancing with him at their junior prom, the final formal gathering that she would share with Dick AND Zatanna and Artemis.

"This was a perfect way to end Junior year, Dick" Barbara sighed into Dick's ear.

His grip on her waist tightened a little to her excitement. He agreed.


End file.
